Punjabi top non-official language in Brampton

Diversity

Photo by Bryon Johnson

Broken down by municipality, 14.87 per cent in Brampton only speak Punjabi at home while Urdu is the top non-official language spoken in Mississauga (3.42 per cent), and Italian in Caledon (1.99 per cent).

Newly released data from the 2011 Census shows Punjabi is the dominant immigrant language spoken in Brampton homes.
According to census numbers released by Peel Region today, English remains the primary language spoken at home for the majority of the population in Peel Region, although that number (63.9 per cent) is down from 67.8 per cent in 2006.
In Peel, 3.9 per cent of residents had no knowledge of an official language, up from 3.7 per cent in 2006.
“This release of language data gives us an early insight into Peel’s diverse community,” said Arvin Prasad, Peel’s director of integrated planning. “Home languages and mother tongues differ significantly in each of our municipalities.”
Looking at Peel overall, the top 10 languages spoken exclusively at home include Punjabi (7.4 per cent), followed by Urdu (2.7 per cent), Polish (1.8 per cent), Spanish (1.4 per cent), Tamil (1.2 per cent), and Arabic (1.2 per cent).
Broken down by municipality, 14.87 per cent in Brampton only speak Punjabi at home while Urdu is the top non-official language spoken in Mississauga (3.42 per cent), and Italian in Caledon (1.99 per cent).
Regional Chair and CEO Emil Kolb said understanding these stats is crucial when it comes to planning for services.
“As our population changes, the Region continues to ensure that residents are able to access the programs and services they need to enhance their quality of life,” Kolb said.
Punjabi is now one of the most popular immigrant language in the Greater Toronto Area.
Of the 124,100 people who only speak Punjabi at home in Ontario, 86,185 or 69 per cent live in Peel Region.
Other census stats include:
• The percentage of seniors in Peel that have no knowledge of English or French is 15.6 per cent
• Close to four per cent of people in Peel have no knowledge of either official language
• In Caledon, people who speak an official language at home make up 93.5 per cent of the population
• In Mississauga, 6.9 per cent of people have knowledge of English and French
For more information visit the Peel Data Centre at peeldatacentre.ca.